Vic Menard
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 07/21/04
Posts: 2724
Loc: Bradenton, FL
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I had a similar project I completed a few years back to keep on hand with my GoTo scope. The best of the Messiers, Herschels, color doubles, carbon stars, some nice "southerly" objects, and several other "obscure" catalogs. I referred to the 400 object database as simply, "The List". It's already sorted for difficulty, and I have it available in several formats. I can e-mail you a copy if you're interested...
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Starman1
Vendor - Scope City
Reged: 06/24/03
Posts: 11086
Loc: Los Angeles
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There is already such a list on the SAA web site, and many such lists on the web. What Preston's list is attempting to do is to list 400 or so of the most spectacular "things" to view for scopes of all sizes. That is a hard thing to do, and I admire the attempt.
Good luck, Preston. Can't wait to see the "finished and polished" version.
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Don Pensack
12.5" Truss Dob, 5" Maksutov
Sustaining Lifetime IDA member, TeleVue junkie
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square_peg
Postmaster
Reged: 03/26/04
Posts: 24539
Loc: Maple Valley, WA
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Yes! That's what I needed. Thanks dgs©.  
And of course major thanks to LivingNDixie!! 
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Tom (Pegster)
DSH-8 (GSO Dob)
15x70 Oberwerks
SVP 100 f/6 achro
WO 66 Petzval
Sears Discoverer EQ 60/900
8x42 Regals
History is Philosophy teaching by examples.
Thucydides
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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Preston,
I have another suggestion: I work with Uranometria and when I print observing lists I always have a column which states the page number the object is found in. Saves a lot of time in the field.
I can add this to the list next week when I have time. Also, I'll be more than delighted to observe the objects listed and contribute to the project.
Will PM my email address.
Edited by Noam (07/27/04 04:25 AM)
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Vic Menard
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 07/21/04
Posts: 2724
Loc: Bradenton, FL
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Actually, what Preston is attempting to do IS what I intended when I published "The List" a few years back in Amateur Astronomy Magazine. It's the result of several years of observing various catalog objects with apertures up to 20-inches, but the best objects are perfect for any size scope. It's tasked by constellation (sorted by median RA) and then sorted by RA within the constellation data. I'd be interested in the discussion group's feedback.
You can get a pdf download of "The List" at:
http://homepage.mac.com/vicmenard/telescopes/index.html
Just click on "The List" aka "My Favorite Deep Sky GoTo Tour"
(Just noticed the old e-mail link is dead (AOL!). You can reach me through this discussion group or the actual e-mail link at vicmenard.com.
Thanks,
Vic
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Dave Mitsky
Postmaster
Reged: 04/08/02
Posts: 6625
Loc: PA, USA, Planet Earth
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Quote:
Actually, what Preston is attempting to do IS what I intended when I published "The List" a few years back in Amateur Astronomy Magazine. It's the result of several years of observing various catalog objects with apertures up to 20-inches, but the best objects are perfect for any size scope. It's tasked by constellation (sorted by median RA) and then sorted by RA within the constellation data. I'd be interested in the discussion group's feedback.
You can get a pdf download of "The List" at:
http://homepage.mac.com/vicmenard/telescopes/index.html
Just click on "The List" aka "My Favorite Deep Sky GoTo Tour"
(Just noticed the old e-mail link is dead (AOL!). You can reach me through this discussion group or the actual e-mail link at vicmenard.com.
Thanks,
Vic
Vic,
I've used your excellent DSO list from AA since it was published.
Dave Mitsky
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Chance favors the prepared mind.
De gustibus non est disputandum.
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Dave Mitsky
Postmaster
Reged: 04/08/02
Posts: 6625
Loc: PA, USA, Planet Earth
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BTW, here's my extended DSO list for July:
http://dvaa.org/AData/AD2004_07.html#DSOs
Dave Mitsky
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Chance favors the prepared mind.
De gustibus non est disputandum.
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LivingNDixie
Lord of Ferrets
Reged: 04/23/03
Posts: 15918
Loc: Hoover, AL
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Quote:
Preston,
I have another suggestion: I work with Uranometria and when I print observing lists I always have a column which states the page number the object is found in. Saves a lot of time in the field.
I can add this to the list next week when I have time. Also, I'll be more than delighted to observe the objects listed and contribute to the project.
Will PM my email address.
Thats a good idea, we can add that
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Preston
Celestron 11" Nexstar GPS XLT
Tak FS 78
Lunt LS60T/Ha 60mm f/8.33 (on order)
Vixen Porta Mount
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LivingNDixie
Lord of Ferrets
Reged: 04/23/03
Posts: 15918
Loc: Hoover, AL
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OK I got some observations from Bill he took a while back. I am going to post a couple here so you know what to write...
Has anyone got any others yet? I have not gotten emails from y'all, have you guys had trouble getting in touch with me?? If y'all get a email bouncing back, send me a PM through here 
One other thing that has occured to me, would y'all want to be assigned objects or do y'all prefer just to go through the list yourselves?
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All of these observations were made on the 23rd and with the C102-HD. Light pollution was terrible, as always. I didn't measure that particular night, but limiting magnitude is generally around 4 at the zenith & lower near the horizons.
Andromeda
Gamma And - With 24mm Pan (41.6x), separation & contrast easily noticeable; views were beautiful right on up through my eyepiece collection to 200x (This is one of my favorite binaries.)
NGC 752 - With my 41mm Pan (24.3x), the cluster appeared very wide but very faint & slightly washed out; the 24mm Pan (41.6x) gave the best view of it (it almost filled the FOV)
NGC 7662 - This planetary nebula never looked like more than anything but a green star to me (if I was even looking at the right thing!!)
Cassiopeia
Eta Cas - With 24mm Pan (41.6x), separation was easily visible but the contrast wasn't very noticeable (the dimmer star looked more red); the 11mm Nagler (90.9x) gave the best view as the contrast was more visible; I thought this was a pretty unspectacular binary
NGC 457 - 24mm Pan (41.6x) gave a nice view; cluster reminded me of an eagle with its wings spread; 11mm Nagler (90.9x) gave a better view due to the darker background; in my 7mm Nagler (142.8x), the cluster looked a bit washed out
NGC 654 - In the 41mm Pan (24.3x), the cluster was fairly easy to pick out, yet it was hard to resolve; the 24mm Pan (41.6x) gave a better view, but it was still a little hard to distinguish the cluster from other stars; the 11mm Nagler (90.9x) gave the best view as the cluster was more apparent
Edited by LivingNDixie (07/28/04 10:44 AM)
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desertstars
Deja moo
Reged: 11/05/03
Posts: 30423
Loc: Tucson, AZ
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With all these neat lists flying around, I'd almost forgotten that we were supposed to be looking at stuff!  Now all I need is a break in the Monsoon!
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Tom W.
SVP8 'She turned me into a 3-legged Newt' EQ
Ralph, the All-Purpose 102mm Refractor
Under the Desert Stars
All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them. - Galileo Galilei
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Starman1
Vendor - Scope City
Reged: 06/24/03
Posts: 11086
Loc: Los Angeles
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In the sake of simplicity, we all should look through the list ourselves, rather than posting the observations (it could be hundreds!).
Perhaps, if you wish to put together a list that shows what to expect, on each object, in different apertures, we all should send our observations to you so that you can collate them. That would be a big job, though.
I suggest you continue to refine the list per the recommendations of the people on this forum, and then announce when the final version is ready for us to download.
Perhaps it could be a prominent listing on the "New for August" page of reviews and articles.
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Don Pensack
12.5" Truss Dob, 5" Maksutov
Sustaining Lifetime IDA member, TeleVue junkie
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LivingNDixie
Lord of Ferrets
Reged: 04/23/03
Posts: 15918
Loc: Hoover, AL
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Quote:
In the sake of simplicity, we all should look through the list ourselves, rather than posting the observations (it could be hundreds!).
Perhaps, if you wish to put together a list that shows what to expect, on each object, in different apertures, we all should send our observations to you so that you can collate them. That would be a big job, though.
I suggest you continue to refine the list per the recommendations of the people on this forum, and then announce when the final version is ready for us to download.
Perhaps it could be a prominent listing on the "New for August" page of reviews and articles.
Thats a good idea
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Preston
Celestron 11" Nexstar GPS XLT
Tak FS 78
Lunt LS60T/Ha 60mm f/8.33 (on order)
Vixen Porta Mount
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Vic Menard
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 07/21/04
Posts: 2724
Loc: Bradenton, FL
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Dave,
Nice work on your July DSO website! Keep it up and you'll be giving SkyHound some competition!
Just wanted to note that I changed the e-mail address on the pdf of "The List" so my new(er) e-mail address is in the document now.
Happy to hear you enjoyed The List... as always, comments (good and bad) are welcomed.
Vic
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Starman1
Vendor - Scope City
Reged: 06/24/03
Posts: 11086
Loc: Los Angeles
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Vic,
I checked your list against my observations log and found I had seen all but 2 of the objects on your list, and on nearly every one of them, I had exclamation points, the words Wow or Nice or Great. In other words, your list is a list of mostly remarkable objects. I observe with an 8" scope, so some of the fainter objects on your list were quite faint for me, but even those objects had notes such as "much detail at the limit" or "revisit on exceptionally clear night" or "look in big scope" (this last note reminds me to leave my scope, walk 25 feet and bum a look through a big dob--easy to do at Mt. Pinos). I'll soon be buying a 12.5" dob, so I'll have to revisit them all.
When Preston gets done with his list, I'll be interested to see how much coincidence there is between the lists.
I printed several copies to give to my friends. Thanks a lot.
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Don Pensack
12.5" Truss Dob, 5" Maksutov
Sustaining Lifetime IDA member, TeleVue junkie
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Vic Menard
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 07/21/04
Posts: 2724
Loc: Bradenton, FL
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Don,
Thanks for the kind words--and I'm glad you enjoyed The List...
(A few of the fainter challenge objects are a test for any size scope!)
The 12.5 should be an interesting step up--a very noticeable increase in both light grasp and resolving power over your LX200. But the LX200 is much more portable!
I'm envious--Mt. Pinos!
Vic
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Starman1
Vendor - Scope City
Reged: 06/24/03
Posts: 11086
Loc: Los Angeles
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Vic,
Actually, when I include all the accoutrements that I bring up for the LX200, the 12.5 is going to be smaller and easier to transport. The LX200 breaks down into a ground mat, anti-vibration cups, the tripod, a 50lb battery, a 40 lb tube assembly, tons of cords, finders, dewcap, etc.
The dob is essentially a 45 lb box, a bag of tubes, and an 11 lb cage assembly. The LX 200 weighs close to the same when completely assembled. The irony is that the 12.5" will fit in my GTI more easily than the LX200.
Mt. Pinos' days are numbered. The go ahead has been given to develop a 270,000 acre ranch not far from the mountain. They estimate 90-120,000 homes. Right now, the night sky is mag.6.4-6.5, but it'll be hard to reach 6 after the homes start going in. It's a shame, because it's been an astronomical Mecca since the late '30s. The next nearest site with equivalently as dark a sky is about 2 additional hours drive (Mt. Pinos is about 90min from West LA), or 3.5 hours--kind of far to drive for a single night of observing. The good news is that the lobbying from the IDA got effective outdoor lighting put into the code for the development.
But that'll only slow the growth of light, not stop it.
Every now and then, it fogs in over most of SoCal, leaving the peak of Mt. Pinos above the clouds and we get to see what the site was like in the 1930's, when it was an alternate site for the Hale Telescope (now on Mt.Palomar). On one of those nights in 1996 my 8" LX200 got to mag. 15.5 on a star cluster at the zenith. Of course, the lucky ones in SE Arizona see skies like that fairly often. The grass is always greener........
Some of the people who regularly contribute to these forums would love to see mag.6 skies.
Clear skies!
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Don Pensack
12.5" Truss Dob, 5" Maksutov
Sustaining Lifetime IDA member, TeleVue junkie
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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Finished adding Uranometria 2000.0 page numbers. Just take the column from the attached file and copy it to whatever is the current working file.
I have a few remarks here:
1. Note that this refers to the FIRST EDITION of Uranometria 2000.0. This is the one where turning a page forward means going left on the map.
2. I have only checked this once so some errors may need to be corrected as we work. I apologize in advance for any mistake.
3. I am not sure of the correct position of some of the double stars given. Many of the coordinates are wrong  .
4. In many cases an object appears in 2 or 4 overlapping maps. I chose the map which seemed the most logical choise.
Edited by Noam (08/04/04 01:24 AM)
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Starman1
Vendor - Scope City
Reged: 06/24/03
Posts: 11086
Loc: Los Angeles
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Which edition, Noam, the 1990's version, or the new edition just recently published?
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Don Pensack
12.5" Truss Dob, 5" Maksutov
Sustaining Lifetime IDA member, TeleVue junkie
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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The first edition. My copy was actually printed in 1988 (I bought it used)
But it is my understanding that the map frames never changed from one edition to another.
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Starman1
Vendor - Scope City
Reged: 06/24/03
Posts: 11086
Loc: Los Angeles
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Unfortunately, they did. And the sequence of the charts changed. Now, each chart is on 2 pages (there's half the number of charts), and you turn the page forward to go to the right, not turn the page backwards.
So, there should be a caveat on your list that this is the pagination from the Original edition of the Uranometria 2000.0, not the new edition.
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Don Pensack
12.5" Truss Dob, 5" Maksutov
Sustaining Lifetime IDA member, TeleVue junkie
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